Current events in the words of the students of Vinod Gupta School of Management, IIT Kharagpur

Pathankot Attack : A chink in our armour

The following article is based on my own interpretation of the said events. Any material borrowed from published and unpublished sources has been appropriately referenced. I will bear the sole responsibility for anything that is found to have been copied or misappropriated or misrepresented in the following post.

It all began with the winter chill when the entire country was wrapped in quilts and blankets. We already had two trending topics for discussion for the season. For those who are wondering, this is what we Indians love to do during our free time. We are elated to talk, to express and to enact like we are no less than an expert to present our opinions about myriad topics. This winter had already been occupied with talks related to the experimentation with an odd-even rule which had kept all other discussions about the winter chill at bay. However, our financial masters were more concerned about the falling market or the so ‘famously’ called charisma of ‘The Dalal Street‘.

While we being busy in our affairs, there were a few who were working extremely hard towards a precarious task – to protect us from all the known and unknown threats due to unkempt circumstances. Be it a winter chill, or an arid storm, or being flooded with hefty rains, no snow was permitted to evade from their claws. But, the chilling winter was looking for an opportunity to breach those walls and covet fear in those who were holding a dove with a white rose.

It was around 3:30 IST in the morning of a day past the new year celebrations when all hell broke loose upon this country. Our airforce was under attack from the group whom few termed as misguided young individuals while other called them as erratic, cold terrorists and infamously known as Jaish-e-Mohammad. Hence, to move outside these jargons, it was our time to act, to retaliate, to show ourselves, to show others that we are capable of handling our affairs, and, that no external threat has been able to breach us in the past and no one will be ever allowed to breach our defenses now. So, under the given circumstances, this incident was a shock to the nation, our nation, which pledges to advocate peace, a nation whose roots lies in spreading peace and a nation where we always stand for peace.

The attack which lasted more than 17 hrs. resulted in a few casualties. Our country lost a few good, fine young men keeping us perplexed again that will they ever stop, asking ourselves why they advocate war at the cost of peace and harmony. That young dove was caged again and the talks of peace were disrupted with the tremors of war.

Our country has already bled a lot by these random acts of terrorism, but, we are still not ready to give in to what we have preserved from our past. Our leaders, our values have always given us the courage and the reasons to fight for peace and no amount of terror can ever lessen our beliefs or mutilate our efforts in this regard.

India is a multi-ethnic, multicultural economy where all castes and creed, communities and societies have co-existed together, sustained together and bonded together. So, a message needs to be given to those who are trying to divide us that our past has given us the direction that how courageously we have kept on sailing together and amidst all the adversities we will continue to coexist together. We are still the fittest proponents of peace and as stated by Darwin — ‘it is the fittest who survives’.